Turning Adversity into Opportunity

Leaders are no strangers to challenge. Over the last few years leaders have experienced unprecedented layoffs, dismal sales, dwindling retirement accounts, and the bankruptcy of once-heralded institutions. They've been threatened by sequestration, the possibility of a government shutdown, and the messy transition to a new healthcare mandate. Trust in leaders has plummeted, engagement scores are stuck in neutral or worse, and any recovery seems tepid at best. Yet even as the challenges mount, the best leaders remain resilient in the face of adversity.In this new work, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, explore how leaders can bounce back from adversity and disruption in uncertain times--times like the ones we're experiencing now. Based on their years of research on exemplary leadership, Jim and Barry share: Six strategies exemplary leaders employ during adverse and challenging circumstances to create opportunities for making extraordinary things happen. One practical action you can take immediately to enact each of these strategies. The study of leadership is the study of how men and women guide people through uncertainty, hardship, disruption, transformation, transition, recovery, new beginnings, and other significant challenges. It's also the study of how men and women, in times of constancy and complacency, actively seek to disturb the status quo, awaken new possibilities, and pursue opportunities. Sometimes leaders have to shake things up. Other times they just have to grab hold of the adversity that surrounds them. Challenge is the crucible of greatness, and whether challenge comes from the outside or the inside, leaders make things happen